help to confirm what spec engine oil I need please

[ventojoe]

Hi Guys
I just need a little help to confirm what spec engine oil I need for our lass's car. It being a Passat Estate GP P0 S TDI PD 100bhp 5 speed, 1896cc diesel. The engine code is AVB. The car was first registered September 2001.

We did not get much service history with it but it says on the service history certificate that it was on the longlife service regime when it was last done at a dealership! It had done 93k miles so I immediately had the timing belt, belts and water pump etc changed by Roger Holmes at York
http://www.holmescarservicing.co.uk/index.html

We have just done around 3k miles since buying it and we are happy with it. It will do about 48 miles to the gallon according to the computer thing! That is not as good as my old Vento at 52 mpg but the Passat is heavier anyway.

What I have found out on this brill site is I need to use Diesel Engine Oil Spec VW 507 00 (5w30) for it to remain on a long life service routine although I have no intention of running it so long between oil changes.

What I would like to know is what do I look for on the can of oil I will get, will it say VW 507 00 or something else. Also is it ok to get oil as cheap as possible from such places as asda or do I need to get it from a dealership/specialist for it to be the best oil needed or will any 5w30 oil do? The price of the oil seems expensive at around £60 ish. No doubt this can be found cheaper if I look around.

Any advice will be much appreciated as we do intend to keep the car till it drops!

[NeilS]

If you're going to change the oil (and filter) every 10,000 miles or less you can buy oil to the specification VW 505.01 or better. This is less expensive than oil to spec 507.00 which many say would be overkill for frequent changes. The PD engines are very sensitive to having the right oil used in them so you mustn't use anything that isn't clearly 505.01 or better. Castrol Edge 5/30 fully synthetic (507.00) is around £10 a litre (Opie Oils) which isn't supermarket cheap but competitive for a high quality oil. Millers XFE PD semi synthetic 5/40 is well regarded and available on the web for £33 for 5 litres. Take your pick but make sure it's 505.01.

[creedxup]

Quantum Longlife 3 5w30 is made?/used by VW garages and ia available for £30 for 5 litres delivered here

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/5-LITRES-VW-QU...item2a108c9049

[creedxup]

That seller has just put his price up, cheeky beggar, so this one is now the cheapest at £33 posted.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/VW-PD-507-504-...item2eb53caa69

[ventojoe]

Thanks very much guys for your help.